New low point for HMRC service levels

It may only be May but 2024 has already been a difficult year for HMRC. In February the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee found that HMRC service levels were at an ‘all-time low’ (tinyurl.com/4h5ycvj2). In March HMRC was forced to abandon plans to restrict access to its VAT self-assessment and PAYE helplines just one day after those plans had been announced (tinyurl.com/yc2hv58v). And now the National Audit Office (NAO) has published a report which lays bare the poor state of HMRC services and the scale of the problems facing HMRC (tinyurl.com/y4hm8y35).

HMRC’s digital-first service approach appears to be at the heart of the problems. HMRC is correct to develop digital services – many tasks can and should be done digitally – but too often its digital services are found wanting putting...